Anle couldn't be bothered with her older cousins. Just by looking at how her younger cousin had been raised, she knew this family wasn't any good.
"Fourth Sister, hurry up and help Mother. Go back early so that Young Master He doesn't keep waiting."
Anxian, unable to sit still, pulled Anning aside and asked in a flustered manner.
"Is the young master He you're talking about the young master of the prominent He family in town?"
An Ning raised an eyebrow. "If it's not that one, then who is it? Is there another He family in this town?"
An Xian immediately raised a shrill voice to question him.
"Are you very familiar with Young Master He?"
An Ning raised her eyebrows and let out a smug shout.
"That's right, my little sister is not only very familiar with Young Master He, but also with Miss Du."
My friend Xiaoju, who works for Miss Du, is a frequent customer of my dessert shop.
These past few days, almost every major household in town has been buying pastries from us every day. We've all become quite familiar with each other now.
After all, my family's dessert shop only caters to wealthy and influential families.
Ordinary people can't afford the desserts my family sells; even my family wouldn't dare to eat a single piece.
Wu Qiaoxin and Wu Qiaolan understood An Ning's unspoken meaning.
In other words, even their own family members couldn't bear to eat it, let alone outsiders like them.
Wu Qiaohui, unable to tolerate An Ning's smug and disdainful attitude, snorted and said.
"They've only been successful for two days, and they're already starting to look down on others?"
My family's grain shop often deals with wealthy and powerful families.
In terms of familiarity, my family's grain shop is more familiar with these big businesses.
My sisters and I often mingled in these big houses, chatting with the young ladies and gentlemen.
We're all old friends.
"You little ones can't compare to him!"
An Ning chuckled, grinned, and went out the door without saying anything, heading towards the large courtyard next door. Her third cousin, that idiot, didn't understand what she meant at all.
Did you just think she was showing off?
What she meant was simply that if you don't have money, don't come to her shop. Her shop is for people who can afford it. She doesn't even eat well herself, so how could she possibly feed them?
That's way too much of an overestimation of themselves!
"Hey, we haven't finished talking yet, why are you running away?" Anxian chased after Anning and grabbed her as she walked into the moon archway to the side.
An Ning turned around and glanced at An Xian.
“Sister Anxian, the big courtyard next to my house is off-limits to unauthorized personnel. You’d better stay here quietly.”
Anxian held on tightly to Anning, refusing to let go.
"What's wrong with going in? Is there anything shady inside that you're afraid I'll find out?"
An Ning scoffed, "The courtyard next door is my family's special courtyard for making pastries."
What are you going in there for?
"Does he think he can steal some pastry recipes from my house?"
An Xian paused for a moment, then spat.
"Pah, who cares about your lousy prescription?"
An Ning pried An Xian's hands off and warned, "Then you'd better stay here obediently and don't wander around. If you dare to sneak into my yard, don't blame me for turning against you!"
Wu Qiaoxin, who was in the hall, heard the voices of the two people outside the door and her eyes flickered slightly.
Pastry recipe?
Yes, how could she not have thought of that?
If her family had this pastry recipe, they could make it at home. Why would they need to come to her uncle's place and be so shameless?
Moreover, making these pastries can be used to entertain the young men and women in the social circle, and who knows, maybe one could even open a pastry shop at home.
It seems she needs to figure this out and learn some tricks of the trade!
That evening, Wu Qiaoxin and Wu Qiaolan pulled An Manxin into their bedroom.
"Mother, there's something I want you to talk to my eldest uncle about. If you just ask him, it should be possible to get it done."
An Manxin looked at her eldest daughter, Wu Qiaoxin, whom she loved most, her shrewd eyes filled with doubt.
"What's wrong? Do I have to go and tell you myself? Didn't you go to your uncle's house today?"
Wu Qiaolan, who was standing to the side, snorted coldly.
"Mom, don't even mention it. I don't know when my uncle's family became so stingy. They didn't even invite us to have lunch there."
We couldn't bring ourselves to stay any longer, so we came back.
An Manxin paused, her face turning somewhat somber. "I'm afraid it's because of the trouble caused by your maternal grandparents."
This family fell into two separate families, and naturally, they became estranged.
Your grandparents are really too confused.
My second brother is the most capable, and he would be a great support if he stayed by my side, but he was kicked out of the house.
If she hadn't left her second brother with nothing back then, wouldn't her life be much better now? She could have earned more too. Now, she can't even scrape together fifty taels of silver.
If her second brother were still part of the family, she would have the confidence to ask for a hundred taels of silver, based on that newly opened shop.
Those two shops alone would be worth at least a hundred taels of silver if sold.
Wu Qiaoxin shook her head. "Mother, I don't think it's just because of the matter of leaving with nothing."
I think the one in charge of my maternal uncle's family now is my youngest cousin, Anle!
I could tell as soon as I arrived that my uncle's family all acted according to that little cousin's wishes.
How come I never realized my little cousin was so capable before?
My uncle and aunt are really not easygoing at all. I could tell at a glance that they were not people to be trifled with.
Your little cousin definitely knows about the affair you had with your dad and your aunt.
They laid it all out to me at that pastry shop today, and I understood what they meant immediately.
An Man was startled. "What? Le Wa Zi knows?"
Wu Qiaolan's eyes were filled with coldness. "Hmph, of course I know."
Judging from the roundabout and veiled insults coming from that girl's mouth, she definitely knows about this.
This is something my uncle and aunt would never have imagined; she probably guessed it herself.
An Manxin looked suspicious. "You guessed it?"
How could someone with such a small brain possibly guess something like this?
Although this kid has been quite mischievous since he was little, surely he can't be that clever?
He's just a tiny kid!
Could it be that someone on our side is a loose tongue and let the news leak out? Did your uncle's family overhear something?
Wu Qiaoxin said thoughtfully.
"Mother, besides our family, the only other person who knows about this is the owner of the cloth shop on East Street. How could word of this have leaked out?"
Doesn't the shopkeeper want to make money?
How could he possibly betray himself? Would he be crazy?
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